July 29: Metheny Starting To Heat Up With A Month To Go

It has been a struggle for Brent Metheny.

Winnipeg’s best hitter in 2008 with a sparkling .357 average scuffled out of the gate this year, injured a calf muscle and seemed to lose his patience at the plate.

For weeks, the third-year Goldeyes third baseman and seven-year pro couldn’t crack the .240 mark (he was hitting .235 on July 5). He just didn’t feel right at the plate or comfortable on the bases. However, he knew two things: (1) in baseball, all situations – good and bad – eventually even out and (2) he hadn’t lost his skills.

“I was just banged up,” he said. “I missed more than two weeks with that muscle tear. I mean I was hurt for much of the first half of the season. It sure didn’t help that I was trying to swing on a torn muscle in my back leg, my power leg.

“But I’m better now and that’s the difference. I’m still not swinging the bat as well as I have, but I can run the bases now. I can steal bases and score from first and that makes a big difference. I can stretch a single into a double. Now that I’m healthy again, things that I’ve done naturally are starting to get a little easier.”

That’s certainly the way it was during Winnipeg’s most recent home stand. Although Metheny was 0-for-6 in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Gary in 13 innings, he was 7-for-15 in the other five games, with four runs scored and three driven in. Now hitting .259, he’s starting to climb back – by his lofty standards, at least – to respectability.

Not surprisingly, the Goldeyes won all six games during that stretch, moved back into first place – three games ahead of second-place Gary – and, like Metheny, appeared to leave their troubles behind.

“I’m starting the hit the ball to all fields again and when I’m doing that, I know I’m getting my stroke back,” Metheny said. “I said a couple of years ago after I hit all those home runs (21 In 2007), that I was really just a doubles hitter, who hit a lot of line drives and sprayed the ball gap-to-gap. I can still hit home runs (he has seven this season), but when I’m at my best, I’m hitting line drives all over the park.”

And when Metheny’s at his best, Northern League pitchers should beware.